Mr-E-man
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Sep 30, 2003
- Messages
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Amphetamines the new target in drugs offensive
By Tim Dick, Urban Affairs Reporter
September 2, 2004
Amphetamines will be the target of a fresh crackdown on illegal drugs after the Premier, Bob Carr, released figures suggesting the battle against heroin had led to a dramatic drop in the number of people using the drug.
Mr Carr hailed the heroin figures, which date to 2002, saying the Government was "succeeding in reducing the availability and use of heroin and other hard drugs". The figures show that the number of regular heroin users dropped by more than half from a high of 48,200 in 1999 to 19,900 in 2002.
The National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, which released the figures, said it was difficult to assess the heroin situation, but a spokesman, Paul Dillon, said a return to 1999 levels of use was unlikely. "But to say that there's no heroin on the street is just not true. There is heroin and there has been for a long period of time."
Mr Carr said the figures showed that strong law enforcement was helping reduce the number of people using illicit drugs, and unveiled laws to tackle the manufacture, sale and use of amphetamines.
The laws, to be introduced by the end of the year, would ban the glass pipes used to smoke the stimulant "ice", following a similar ban in Victoria.
People who sold, made or displayed the pipes would face jail terms.
Anyone wanting to buy ingredients to make illegal drugs would have to declare how they planned to use them, provide identification and wait 24 hours to pick them up, while chemicals to make the depressant GHB would be banned.
Mr Carr said new penalties would apply to those found to be "exposing children to illegal clandestine drug laboratories" and to those who gave drugs to a child for the purpose of supply other children.
Mr Dillon said the measures aimed to reduce the supply of drugs, but risked being ineffective if demand was not also addressed at the same time.
"We're going through a major amphetamine cycle at the moment, there's a lot around," he said.
But without reducing demand through education and treatment measures, "it's not really going to make a great deal of difference".
He said banning glass pipes used to smoke ice may encourage alternative methods of consuming the drug, including injecting, although that was not likely. Past government crack-downs on the supply of speed had driven down the quality of the drug, which encouraged some users to switch to heroin, he said.
The announcements came as the NSW Special Minister of State, John Della Bosca, said he would meet the Federal Health Minister, Tony Abbott, for talks over importing cannabis for medicinal purposes in "the next week or so".
The NSW Government last year committed to a four-year trial of using cannabis, which provides relief for cancer, AIDS and multiple-sclerosis sufferers. The Prime Minister, John Howard, said earlier this year he supported a scientific trial.
Before that can happen, the cannabis has to be found from somewhere and the meeting will look at importing it from Canada.
NSW Greens MP Lee Rhiannon welcomed the meeting, which comes as the Liberal Party mounts a sustained attack on the Greens' drugs policy, which Mr Howard described this week as "very, very kooky".
Mr Abbott's office did not return calls yesterday.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/09/01/1093938999994.html
Link
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"He said banning glass pipes used to smoke ice may encourage alternative methods of consuming the drug, including injecting, although that was not likely. Past government crack-downs on the supply of speed had driven down the quality of the drug, which encouraged some users to switch to heroin, he said."
Huh?8)
By Tim Dick, Urban Affairs Reporter
September 2, 2004
Amphetamines will be the target of a fresh crackdown on illegal drugs after the Premier, Bob Carr, released figures suggesting the battle against heroin had led to a dramatic drop in the number of people using the drug.
Mr Carr hailed the heroin figures, which date to 2002, saying the Government was "succeeding in reducing the availability and use of heroin and other hard drugs". The figures show that the number of regular heroin users dropped by more than half from a high of 48,200 in 1999 to 19,900 in 2002.
The National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, which released the figures, said it was difficult to assess the heroin situation, but a spokesman, Paul Dillon, said a return to 1999 levels of use was unlikely. "But to say that there's no heroin on the street is just not true. There is heroin and there has been for a long period of time."
Mr Carr said the figures showed that strong law enforcement was helping reduce the number of people using illicit drugs, and unveiled laws to tackle the manufacture, sale and use of amphetamines.
The laws, to be introduced by the end of the year, would ban the glass pipes used to smoke the stimulant "ice", following a similar ban in Victoria.
People who sold, made or displayed the pipes would face jail terms.
Anyone wanting to buy ingredients to make illegal drugs would have to declare how they planned to use them, provide identification and wait 24 hours to pick them up, while chemicals to make the depressant GHB would be banned.
Mr Carr said new penalties would apply to those found to be "exposing children to illegal clandestine drug laboratories" and to those who gave drugs to a child for the purpose of supply other children.
Mr Dillon said the measures aimed to reduce the supply of drugs, but risked being ineffective if demand was not also addressed at the same time.
"We're going through a major amphetamine cycle at the moment, there's a lot around," he said.
But without reducing demand through education and treatment measures, "it's not really going to make a great deal of difference".
He said banning glass pipes used to smoke ice may encourage alternative methods of consuming the drug, including injecting, although that was not likely. Past government crack-downs on the supply of speed had driven down the quality of the drug, which encouraged some users to switch to heroin, he said.
The announcements came as the NSW Special Minister of State, John Della Bosca, said he would meet the Federal Health Minister, Tony Abbott, for talks over importing cannabis for medicinal purposes in "the next week or so".
The NSW Government last year committed to a four-year trial of using cannabis, which provides relief for cancer, AIDS and multiple-sclerosis sufferers. The Prime Minister, John Howard, said earlier this year he supported a scientific trial.
Before that can happen, the cannabis has to be found from somewhere and the meeting will look at importing it from Canada.
NSW Greens MP Lee Rhiannon welcomed the meeting, which comes as the Liberal Party mounts a sustained attack on the Greens' drugs policy, which Mr Howard described this week as "very, very kooky".
Mr Abbott's office did not return calls yesterday.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/09/01/1093938999994.html
Link
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"He said banning glass pipes used to smoke ice may encourage alternative methods of consuming the drug, including injecting, although that was not likely. Past government crack-downs on the supply of speed had driven down the quality of the drug, which encouraged some users to switch to heroin, he said."
Huh?8)
